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fcmhm Beth
VOUR-^ -^^ OFFICIAL HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
VOL. 35 NO. 26 JUNE 29-JULY 5, 2001 40 Cent
* * ¥ * * ¥ ¥ * ¥ ¥ * * ¥ * ¥ ¥ ¥ * * * ¥ ¥ * * * * ¥ * ¥ ¥ * J M ^ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ * ^
Happy 225 th Birthday America
The Story of Independence Day
Independence Day is the
£ national holiday of the United States
J of America commemorating the
J signing of the Declaration of
J Independence by the Continental
j Congress on July 4, 1776, in
4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
J At the time of the signing the US
J consisted of 13 colonies under the
* rule of England's King George III.
J There was growing unrest in the
+ colonies concerning the taxes that
i had to be paid to England. This was
J commonly referred to as "Taxation
* without Representation" as the
j colonists did not have any
{ representation in the English
M Parliament and had no say in what
* went on. As the unrest grew in the
4 colonies, King George sent extra
* troops to help control any rebellion
J In 1774 the 13 colonies sent
2 delegates to Philadelphia,
J Pennsylvania to form the First
J Continental Congress. The
* delegates were unhappy with
J England, but were not yet ready to
J declare war.
M The following May the colonies
J again sent delegates to the Second
J Continental Congress. For almost a
•H year the congress tried to work out
j its differences with England, aga
J without formally declaring war.
in
By June 1776 their efforts had
become hopeless and a committee
was formed to compose a formal
declaration of independence.
Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the
committee included John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston
and Roger Sherman. Thomas
Jefferson was chosen to write the
first draft which was presented to the
congress on June 28. After various
changes a vote was taken late in the
afternoon of July 4th. Of the 13
colonies, 9 voted in favor of the
Declaration, 2 - Pennsylvania and
South Carolina voted No, Delaware
undecided and New York abstained.
The following day copies of the
Declaration were distributed. The
first newspaper to print the
Declaration was the Pennsylvania
Evening Post on July 6, 1776. On
July 8th the Declaration had its first
public reading in Philadelphia's
Independence Square. Twice that
day the Declaration was read to
cheering crowds and pealing church
bells. Even the bell in Independence
Hall was rung. The "Province Bell"
would later be renamed "Liberty
Bell" after its inscription -
Proclaim Liberty Throughout All
the Land Unto All the Inhabitants
Thereof
The Declaration of Independence
of the Thirteen Colonies
(Known as the Birth Certificate of the United States)
First two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence
t
t
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the
thirteen united States of America
* When in the Course of human
j events, it becomes necessary for one
+t people to dissolve the political bands
J . which have connected them with
J another, and to assume among the
5 powers of the earth, the separate
j and equal station to which the Laws
4c of Nature and of Nature s God entitle
J them, a decent respect to the
J opinions of mankind requires that
M they should declare the causes which
J impel them to the separation
J We hold these truths to be self­-
evident, that all men are created
J equal, that they are endowed by their
<fc Creator with certain unalienable
• Rights, that among these are Lite,
* Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness. That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the
governed. That whenever any Form
of Government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form,
as to them shall seem most likely to
effect their Safety and Happiness
Contents taken from the records of
The National Archives and
Administration, Washington, D C
Courtesy of American Legion
Auxiliary #86, Bethpage
Joan Poppe
I
{
t
i
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

fcmhm Beth
VOUR-^ -^^ OFFICIAL HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
VOL. 35 NO. 26 JUNE 29-JULY 5, 2001 40 Cent
* * ¥ * * ¥ ¥ * ¥ ¥ * * ¥ * ¥ ¥ ¥ * * * ¥ ¥ * * * * ¥ * ¥ ¥ * J M ^ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ * ^
Happy 225 th Birthday America
The Story of Independence Day
Independence Day is the
£ national holiday of the United States
J of America commemorating the
J signing of the Declaration of
J Independence by the Continental
j Congress on July 4, 1776, in
4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
J At the time of the signing the US
J consisted of 13 colonies under the
* rule of England's King George III.
J There was growing unrest in the
+ colonies concerning the taxes that
i had to be paid to England. This was
J commonly referred to as "Taxation
* without Representation" as the
j colonists did not have any
{ representation in the English
M Parliament and had no say in what
* went on. As the unrest grew in the
4 colonies, King George sent extra
* troops to help control any rebellion
J In 1774 the 13 colonies sent
2 delegates to Philadelphia,
J Pennsylvania to form the First
J Continental Congress. The
* delegates were unhappy with
J England, but were not yet ready to
J declare war.
M The following May the colonies
J again sent delegates to the Second
J Continental Congress. For almost a
•H year the congress tried to work out
j its differences with England, aga
J without formally declaring war.
in
By June 1776 their efforts had
become hopeless and a committee
was formed to compose a formal
declaration of independence.
Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the
committee included John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston
and Roger Sherman. Thomas
Jefferson was chosen to write the
first draft which was presented to the
congress on June 28. After various
changes a vote was taken late in the
afternoon of July 4th. Of the 13
colonies, 9 voted in favor of the
Declaration, 2 - Pennsylvania and
South Carolina voted No, Delaware
undecided and New York abstained.
The following day copies of the
Declaration were distributed. The
first newspaper to print the
Declaration was the Pennsylvania
Evening Post on July 6, 1776. On
July 8th the Declaration had its first
public reading in Philadelphia's
Independence Square. Twice that
day the Declaration was read to
cheering crowds and pealing church
bells. Even the bell in Independence
Hall was rung. The "Province Bell"
would later be renamed "Liberty
Bell" after its inscription -
Proclaim Liberty Throughout All
the Land Unto All the Inhabitants
Thereof
The Declaration of Independence
of the Thirteen Colonies
(Known as the Birth Certificate of the United States)
First two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence
t
t
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the
thirteen united States of America
* When in the Course of human
j events, it becomes necessary for one
+t people to dissolve the political bands
J . which have connected them with
J another, and to assume among the
5 powers of the earth, the separate
j and equal station to which the Laws
4c of Nature and of Nature s God entitle
J them, a decent respect to the
J opinions of mankind requires that
M they should declare the causes which
J impel them to the separation
J We hold these truths to be self­-
evident, that all men are created
J equal, that they are endowed by their